Terror alert lifted at Eiffel Tower following bomb threat

A terror alert at the Eiffel Tower has been cleared after the monument was evacuated Saturday when an anonymous caller phoned in a bomb threat. An official said it is set to reopen

A Paris police official said Saturday that nearly 1,400 people were evacuated following a request from tower operators after the warning Saturday. Police then searched the monument with sniffer dogs for possible explosives, and set up a broad security perimeter. No explosives were found.

French authorities have stepped up counter terrorism measures in recent weeks amid heightened concern about threats to France over its military campaign against Al Qaeda-linked fighters in Mali which began more than two months ago.

The tower is occasionally evacuated because of such warnings -- at least once last year and twice in 2011. The 1,063-foot tower is one of the world's top tourist attractions, with millions of visitors a year.

Copyright 2013 by News4Jax.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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